Welcome to the blog of Pastor Alton Stone, from Simpsonville, SC. Pastor Stone is a retired Ordained Bishop of The Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee with over 45 years of pastoral ministry.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Super Bowl of Caring

I do well remember the last time the Super Bowl really was exciting for me. Steve Young three 6 touchdown passes and the 49ers beat the Chargers. Man, I was so excited the next day when I got my World Champion T-Shirt and Ball cap. I've been a 49er fan for as long as I can remember and the eighties and nineties were sweet to us. Now if we had drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith we might have been back again.

But when the quarterback well ran dry (the last guy we had that was real good was Jeff Garcia), my Niners went in the tank. We have really fallen on hard times and every time things begin to look up we fall down again. But I am still filled with hope two days before the Packers and Steelers play in Super Bowl 45 I am still believing for next year. As long as there is hope the dream can stay alive.

That's why this Sunday if your church is having a Super Bowl of Caring service please get involved. Statistics show that most of us are just a paycheck or two of being homeless. There are people living on the street this year that were in homes just like yours last year. In fact many of them never thought they would be homeless today.

There are also children here and abroad that have been abandoned and orphaned during the course of the year. Man, I shudder to think of what would happen to kids I know and love if their parents were killed and then decisions were made about their futures by people who don't know or even care for them.  Or what about the widow or widower in the nursing home that has outlived their children? Does anybody really care if they exist or not? That's why so many who have infirmities due to age feel unloved because nobody seems to care if they exist or not.

On this Super Bowl of Caring Sunday make sure you make a vow to God to show concern for the homeless, the orphaned, and the widowed. If your goal in 2011 is to feed the hungry then do it. If it is to help the hurting and alone in a nursing home or those confined to home then do so. If you can help those that are homeless get back on their feet then do it. That's what the Super Bowl of Caring is all about-showing God's love to those who might need it the most.

The Message Matthew 25:41-45 ""Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

   I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
   I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
   I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
   I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
   Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

 44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
 45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

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